Apply for BAföG to study

BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law. You receive the funding to finance

• of your studies,
• under certain conditions of a prescribed internship as part of your degree programme.

In order to receive the monthly subsidy, you must fulfil other requirements in addition to financial need. The most important are

• You are studying full-time.
• Age limit: 45 years. Exceptions are possible.

The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your spouse or partner or you yourself earn a little more.

If you are studying, you will receive half of the funding as a loan and half as a grant. This means that, as a rule, you only have to pay back half of the money after your studies. You do not have to pay any interest on the loan ("interest-free loan"). The maximum repayment amount is generally EUR 10,010, regardless of the total amount of funding. This corresponds to 77 monthly instalments of EUR 130 each from the start of repayment. The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) is responsible for collecting the loan. Repayment will not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period, which is usually the standard period of study. If you do not earn enough to repay your loan, you can apply to the Federal Office of Administration for a deferment of payment.

If you are a student, your monthly requirements are made up of different parts:

• Basic requirements:
  • EUR 475 if you are studying at a higher technical college, academy or university, for example.
• Need for accommodation:
  • 59 EUR if you live with your parents or
  • 380 EUR if you do not live with your parents.
• If you cannot obtain health and long-term care insurance through your parents, you will receive an additional EUR 102 or EUR 35 respectively.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare allowance of EUR 160 for each child.

Within the European Union (EU) and in Switzerland, your studies can be funded from the start until you obtain your foreign qualification. For stays abroad outside the EU, BAföG is available for up to one year; in special exceptional cases for up to 2.5 years. Your stay abroad must be completed within a consecutive period and in one country, unless attending training centres in several countries is of particular importance for your education.

Your compulsory internship abroad can also be funded with BAföG. For this, your internship must last at least 12 weeks if it is completed outside the EU.

For a semester or year abroad or an internship abroad, you can apply for supplements to travel expenses, tuition fees and international health insurance. For stays abroad outside the EU or Switzerland, you will also receive a purchasing power equalisation allowance. You do not have to repay supplements for verifiably necessary tuition fees abroad.

The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG entitlement:

• The income of your parents and your spouse or partner in the penultimate year before the start of the authorisation period, if it is above the tax-free amount. The tax-free amount is:
  • EUR 2,540 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,690 per parent if your parents live separately and
  • EUR 1,690 for your spouse or cohabiting partner
• Your own income if it is more than EUR 556 per month. There may also be additional allowances if you pay maintenance to other people.
• Your own assets if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.

Note: If your parents or your spouse or partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last prior to authorisation, you can submit an update application. There may also be other additional allowances, for example for additional children or other dependants of your parents or your partner under civil law.

Parent-independent BAföG:

Your parents' income is not taken into account if you

• have been gainfully employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
• have completed three years of vocational training and have been gainfully employed for at least 3 years. In the case of shorter training, a correspondingly longer period of gainful employment is required.
• are older than 30 years at the start of training.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total positive income. In the case of training grant law, this is the gross income for salaried employees minus the

• Advertising expenses,
• social lump sum and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.

You must inform the Office for Education immediately in writing of any changes in your financial situation and your family and educational circumstances. This includes, for example, if your income changes, if you change, break off or end your training or if your siblings do the same.

There is a maximum funding period. You can receive BAföG until the end of the standard period of study or a comparable period. Your BAföG can then be extended by one semester without giving reasons, i.e. in the Bachelor's or Master's programme. This is known as the flexible semester. There are also other extension options. For example, if you have exceeded the maximum funding period because you

• have failed the final examination for the first time,
• have a disability,
• are or have been pregnant,
• have raised a child up to the age of 14,
• are or have been active in committees and bodies of the university, the student self-administration, the student unions or the federal states provided for by law or the statutes, or
• have cared for close relatives in a home environment who are categorised in care degree 3 or higher.

An extension for the above reasons is possible before or after a flexibility semester. If you have already been granted an extension due to failing the final examination, you will no longer be able to receive a flexibility semester.

Please note: If you are entitled to an extension due to a disability, pregnancy or the care and upbringing of a child up to the age of 14, you will receive full grant funding without a loan component during the extension period deemed appropriate in this respect. It may therefore make sense to use this extension option instead of or before taking advantage of a flexible semester. If necessary, seek advice from your BAföG office.

If you give up one degree programme and start another ("change of degree programme"), your new degree programme can only be funded if

• the change took place in the 3rd semester at the latest or
• the change took place in the 4th semester and there is an important reason for the change or
• there was an unavoidable reason for the change, for example:
  • a disability occurring after commencement of studies or
  • an allergy to certain substances occurring after commencement of the degree programme which makes it impossible to continue the degree programme or to pursue the profession previously pursued.

The change for an irrefutable reason is still recognised after the 4th semester.

Interns and trainees:

BAföG can only be used to fund internships that you complete while you are enrolled in a degree programme that is eligible for funding under BAföG.

Only compulsory internships are funded. These are internships that are prescribed by your study regulations and that you must complete in order to graduate. Compulsory internships completed outside the EU are only eligible for funding if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory internships within EU member states can also be funded if they are shorter than 12 weeks.